Multiparameter lighting fixtures are lighting fixtures, which illustratively have two or more individually remotely adjustable parameters such as focus, color, image, position, or other light characteristics. Multiparameter lighting fixtures are widely used in the lighting industry because they facilitate significant reductions in overall lighting system size and permit dynamic changes to the final lighting effect. Applications and events in which multiparameter lighting fixtures are used to great advantage include showrooms, television lighting, stage lighting, architectural lighting, live concerts, and theme parks. Illustrative multi-parameter lighting fixtures are described in the product brochure entitled “The High End Systems Product Line 2001” and are available from High End Systems, Inc. of Austin, Tex.
Multiparameter lighting fixtures are commonly constructed with a lamp housing that may pan and tilt in relation to a base housing so that light projected from the lamp housing can be remotely positioned to project on the stage surface. Commonly a plurality of multiparameter lights are controlled by an operator from a central controller. The central controller is connected to communicate with the plurality of multiparameter lights via a communication system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,187 titled “Computer controlled lighting system having automatically variable position, color, intensity and beam divergence” to Bomhorst and incorporated herein by reference disclosed a plurality of multiparameter lights and a central controller.
The lamp housing of the multiparameter light contains the optical components and the lamp. The lamp housing is rotatably mounted to a yoke that provides for a tilting action of the lamp housing in relation to the yoke. The lamp housing is titled in relation to the yoke by a motor actuator system that provides remote control of the tilting action. by the central controller. The yoke is rotatably connected to the base housing that provides for a panning action of the yoke in relation to the base housing. The yoke is panned in relation to the base housing by a motor actuator system that provides remote control of the panning action by the central controller.
Often times the multiparameter lighting fixtures travel by truck from one performance location (such as a concert hall) to another and require frequent loading and unloading of the multiparameter lighting fixtures by technicians. The loading and unloading process often requires frequent mounting and unmounting of the multiparameter lighting fixture by a technician onto structural support frames that are suspended above the stage set. The handling of a multiparameter lighting fixture by the technician can become cumbersome if the lamp housing can freely rotate in relation to the base while it is being carried by the technician. The prior art multiparameter lights often include a manual locking system that fixes the lamp housing in relation to the yoke and the yoke in relation to the base in a predetermined position. This keeps the lamp housing, yoke and base fixed in the predetermined position during the loading and unloading process. As a multiparameter lighting fixture is being carried by the technician, the technician insures the multiparameter lighting fixture is in the predetermined locked position, making it easier for the technician to carry and handle the fixture. After the multiparameter light is mounted to the structural support frame the technician must manually unlock the multiparameter lighting fixture so that the lamp housing can rotate freely in relation to the yoke and the yoke can rotate freely in relation to the base housing. If the technician should forget to manually unlock the multiparameter light pan and tilt locking system after mounting to the structural support frame, the multiparameter light will fail to operate properly as the lamp housing cannot be driven to rotate in relation to the yoke by the titling motor actuator and the yoke cannot be driven to rotate in relation to the base housing by the panning motor actuator.
Multiple technicians may be required to mount to the structural support frame as many as 50 to 100 multiparameter lighting fixtures during one show. The time for loading and unloading the show by the technicians at many of the show facilities may be limited as the schedule for the shows may require frequent travel between different facility locations on a day to day basis. Frequently a technician in the haste to load a show may accidentally forget to unlock the pan and tilt locking system of the multiparameter lighting fixture often requiring the technician to climb the structural support frame that may be elevated 20 to 40 feet above the stage surface. Obviously if the time is limited for loading the show the accidental mistake of forgetting to unlock the pan and tilt system of a multiparameter light can have a negative effect on the other time related aspects of loading and preparing the show.